How to Calculate Mechanical Power
- 1). Identify the work done in the situation for which you are trying to calculate the mechanical power. For instance, suppose a mover uses a force of 45 pounds (lbs) to push a heavy box 8 feet (ft) across the floor of a truck. The work being done is the moving of the box.
- 2). Calculate the amount of work performed by multiplying the force used by the distance the object was moved. In the example:
Work = 45 lbs x 8 ft = 360 ft-lb - 3). Divide the work performed by the time it took to perform it to calculate the mechanical power involved. Suppose that it took the mover 5 seconds (s) to push the box.
Mechanical power = 360 ft-lb / 5 s x (1 hp / 550 ft-lbs/second) = 0.13 hp
The mover exerted 0.13 horsepower of power when he moved the box across the floor of the truck.